A farmer in Rajasthan's Balotra district has reportedly lost Rs 5 lakh after termites destroyed the cash he had buried in his field for safekeeping. According to reports, Mangilal Meghwal, a resident of Newai village near Pachpadra, received Rs 5 lakh after selling a plot of land around a year ago. Fearing theft and worried that the money might be spent by his sons, he decided to hide the cash in his field instead of keeping it at home.
The farmer placed the money in a plastic bag and buried it in a pit on his farmland. He did not tell his wife or children where the money was hidden.
Months later, when he needed funds to build a room on the farm, he went to retrieve the cash. However, he could no longer remember the exact spot where he had buried it. Despite searching across his 10-bigha field, he was unable to find the money.
Eventually, he informed his family about the hidden cash. At first, they struggled to believe his story, but later joined the search. Even then, the money remained missing.
Nearly a year later, during the monsoon season, a damaged bag containing the cash reportedly surfaced in the field. When family members opened it, they discovered that termites had infested the bundle of notes. Most of the Rs 500 notes had been badly damaged and torn into pieces.
Banks Refuse To Accept Damaged Currency Notes
The family collected the termite-damaged currency notes and approached the State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Pachpadra, hoping to recover at least part of the lost money. However, bank officials reportedly refused to exchange the notes after assessing their condition. The family then visited SBI's main branch in Balotra, but their efforts yielded the same result.
With no compensation or exchange in sight, the loss has only deepened the family's distress. The farmer's wife and son are now blaming him for concealing the cash instead of depositing it in a bank, saying the decision ultimately wiped out the family's hard-earned savings.
(With Inputs From Anil Vaishnav)
